Combined ball-spotter and register.



PATENTED JAN.17, 1905.

M. G: WRIGHT,

COMBINED BALL SPOTTEB AND REGISTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l a zzvenors erwz a v wAP/Jw COMBINED BALL SPOTTER AND REGISTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. @gz.

. l 1/11/11/1/ I. a

measures.-

PATENTED JAN. 17, 1905. M. G. WRIGHT.

UNITED STATES Patented January 17, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

COMBINED BALL-SPOTTER AND REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,251, dated. January 17, 1905.

Application filed April 5, 1904. Serial No. 201,710.

To all lUh/OWZ/ it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MORTIMER G. \VRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Ball- Spotter and Register, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to combined ball-spotters and registers, and has for its object the provision of a register so arranged with relation to the triangle commonly employed in spotting the balls on a pool-table that it will be impossible to so employ the triangle without actuating the register, and thereby recording one game.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pool-table, showing how the triangle is hung upon a flexible support adjacent thereto. Fig. 2 is a side view of a register which may be employed, if desired. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of said register looking from the opposite side. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section of the register upon line 4 4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow, and Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section upon line 5 5 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Like numerals designate similar parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

1n the drawings (see Fig. 1) the numeral 5 designates an ordinary pool-table. Secured to an eyelet 6 above said table is a flexible support 7, which passes over a pulley, and then has attached to it the register 9. The parts are normally balanced in the position shown by a weight 10, hung upon the flexible memher 7 between eyelet 6 and pulley 8. A triangle 12, such as is commonly employed for spotting the balls on a pool-table, is hung upon a cord or wire 13, which enters the register and is wound upon a drum 14 contained therein.

The drum 14 (see Figs. 3 and 4) is in the form of an annular ring and has its bearings in shallow grooves formed in the walls of the casing 15. A stop-pin 16, carried by the easing, projects into the path of a second stoppin 1'7, carried by the drum, and limits the movement of said drum in either direction. A spring 18 normally keeps the drum in the position shown in Fig. 4.

Pivoted to a lug 19, formed upon the inner periphery of the drum, is a pawl 20, which is normally kept in engagement with a series of ratchet-teeth 21 by a flat spring 22. By referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the unitsdrum 23, the tens-drum 24, and the hundredsdrum 25 are all substantially alike and have their bearing in shallow grooves of the casin g, as also does a ring 26, located between the drum 14 and the units-drum 23 and having formed thereon the ratchet-teeth hereinbefore described, with which the pawl 20 engages.

Secured by screws 27 to the otherwise open end of the casing is an end plate 28, carrying the arbors 29, 30, and 31, upon which are rotatively mounted the pinions 32, 33, and 34. The pinion 32 is designed to mesh with gearteeth 35, carried by ring 26, and with gearteeth 36, carried by the units-drum. The pinion 33 is designed to mesh with gear-teeth 37 carried by the units-drum, and with gearteeth 33, carried by the tens-drum. Pinion 34 is designed to mesh with gear-teeth 39, carried by the tens-drum, and with gear-teeth 40, carried by the hundreds-drum.

As is best illustrated in Fig. 5, the gearteeth 35, 37, and 39 comprise only about live teeth, while the gear-teeth 36, 38, and 40 extend entirely around the inner periphery of the drums 23, 24, and 25. The operation of the device is as follows:

Then it is desired to spot the balls at the beginning of a new game of pool, the attendant of the table pulls the triangle down until it is within a few inches of the bed of said table, at which time the support 7 has been drawn taut. A further pull upon the triangle to bring it entirely down upon the bed of the table will cause the cord 13 to rotate the drum 14 to the limit of its movement. This rotation of the drum will cause the ring 26 to perform a complete revolution through the medium of the pawl 20 and the ratchet-teeth 21. hen ring 26 rotates, the gear-teeth 35 are in engagement with and rotate the pinion 29 during one-tenth of the revolution of said ring, thereby imparting one-tenth of a revolution to the units-drum and registering one game. When the triangle is released, the spring 18 returns the drum 14 to its normal position and the Weight 10 returns the triangle to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The movement of the units-drum with relation to the tens-drum and of the tens-drum with relation to the hundreds-drum is the same as the movement of ring 26 with relation to the tens-drumthat is, ten revolutions of the ring will rotate the units-drum once, ten revolutions of the units-drum Will rotate the tensdrum once, and so on for as many places as the register is designed to count.

In most establishments where tables are rented to players an attendant is employed to spot the balls and to collect what money may be due the establishment. It has been found that the attendants often fail to report cor rectly the amount of money they have collected, and it has long been a desideratum to provide some means of enabling the proprietor of the establishment to obtain a record of the number of games played, and from the foregoing description it will be seen that that object has been accomplished in the present invention, for it is impossible for the attendant to spot the balls for a new game without actuating the register.

While the register herein shown and described is well adapted to serve the purpose set forth, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited thereto, for other forms of registers may be employed, if desired, and changes in the detail arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departure from the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination, with a ball-spotting triangle, secured to a cord, of 'a register having a drum upon which said cord is wound, a flexible support for said register secured at one end to a fixed support, a pulley over which said flexible support passes and a weight for counterbalancing the triangle and register, hung upon said flexible support intermediate the pulley and the point at which said flexible support is secured.

2. The combination, with a ball-spotting triangle secured to a cord, or wire; of a register adapted to be actuated by said cord or Wire; and a flexible support upon which said register is hung said support being of such length that it will be drawn taut before the triangle reaches the bed of the table, whereby further movement of the triangle will serve to actuate said register; and a counterbalancing-weight for said register and triangle.

3. The combination, with aball-spottingtriangle secured to a cord, of a register having a counter-actuating drum upon which said cord is wound; a flexible support for said register; a counterbalancing-weight upon said flexible support and a spring for actuating the drum of the register in one direction.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MORTIMER G. WRIGHT. Witnesses:

Tuos. W. RUssELL, GORA A. STEIN. 

